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Winter eats..and treats

With what feels like the darkest days of winter here at the moment it's sometimes hard to find comfort in those things the other seasons so generously offer. Sunlight is at a bare minimum, it's cold, washing needing to be hung inside just to get it dry, a soggy chook pen and a sloshy goat paddock, ash, ash and more ash from the fire place waiting to be emptied, and it's cold! (did I mention that?).

What I wouldn't give for a t-shirt kind of day, a warm breeze sweet with the scent of spring blossom and cut grass, the kind of weather to potter around outside without freezing the fingers off *sigh*..

So, the focus for comforts moves indoors. Yarny crafty goodness, freshly washed fleecy fibre drying by the fire, spinning, spinning and more spinning. And food. For sustenance of course...

I just can't seem to get enough of this custard tart. I'm amazed every time I make it how well the custard sets..it's so smooth and velvety but not in the least bit sloppy..a cut slice will sit nice and neatly on the plate. It's up there among my favourite sweet recipes! Using homegrown eggs is a real treat too!

Who doesn't love a freshly made donut? Especially when you're tween size and have just come home from being caught in the cold rain after school...again!

Spanakopita. This is also becoming another favourite. It's so easy to whip together and using up the steady supply of silverbeet offerings from the garden make the meal seem so much tastier! The feta and parmesan that the pie is loaded with would have absolutely nothing to do with this, I'm sure!

Some jammy experiments..well, just for fun.

This winter, I'm right into the home cooked beans. This night it was our favourite Boston baked beans divided up into op-shopped ramekins then topped with cheese and baked until meltingly gooey after being inspired by Linda Woodrow's post.

Such an easy dinner with bread alongside and SO tasty!

I'm loving having the eldest at home this week on an extra week of school holidays. To have her bake a batch of brownies for me to take to spinning group is an absolute treat!

A sourdough starter bubbling away plus soups soups and more soups made with stocky goodness, these are the comforts from the kitchen making their way to our table at the moment.

Preheat the oven to moderate 180c/350f. Bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan. While this is happening, mix the eggs, vanilla and sugar together in a bowl. Once the milk is at the boil, remove from heat and slowly pour over the egg mixture, whisking all the while. Strain through a sieve into a jug with a good pouring spout.

Place the pre-cooked pastry flan in the oven and pull out the shelf slightly. Pour the strained egg mixture carefully into the pastry shell and sprinkle with the ground nutmeg. Slowly slide the oven shelf and tray back into position, close the door and bake for 30-40 minutes or until just set (mixture won't wobble when shaken gently).

Allow to cool before slicing.

(Any leftover pastry/egg mixture can be formed into mini tarts in muffin trays. Just roll out the dough, place in the tins and pop in the freezer for around 10-20 minutes, add the custard mix and bake for around 10-15 minutes - no need to blind bake. With the pastry being cold, it won't shrink and lose it's shape too much in the oven. The finished tarts are even sturdy enough for the lunchboxes!)

What a lot of very tasty treats. I'm now wondering why, I've never made a custard tart before! Winter doesn't seem to have left us yet in the UK and we're all feeling rather gloomy we are not going to get a summer at all.

I was just going to say the same as Jodie - it's making me hungry. I sometimes find it hard to get through a dozen eggs so towards the end I turn the last few into egg custard. This time I'm going to try your recipe and add an egg yolk to the pastry. Sounds good.

Ah, your post came just right at the same time. I am feeling all cooky and bakey near my fuel stove in arms reach! Custard tart here I come!!!!!!!!!(We have sloshy goat pen and soggy chicken pen and ash too ..I will enjoy it more knowing other people are dealing with it too!)

What a delicious post! Here it's summer but we're having days and days of rain. Again! It had barely dried out from a previous week of rain, and I had to scamper to get seeds planted before this next bout. On the brighter side, it's perfect weather to have the oven on...I may try that custard tart today.

The beans and cheese look delicious! we had homemade made beans this week, I wish I'd though of doing that with them, next time!Do you cook your tart pastry before putting in the custard mixture? This post has made me very hungry so I'm off now for a coffee and a little nibble!

Our chook run is all sloshy mud at the mo, poor things! Your baked beans look delicious in little ramekins. I like to make a triple batch and freeze them. We pull them out of a weekend and reheat them in a pan with an egg on top, a quick but yummy lunch. I like the idea of stretchy melted cheese on top.Melanie-Jade :-)

I was sneaky and used the donut maker that lurkes at the back of the cupboard, Jane. ;)

Yes, blind bake the custard tart pastry first, Emma (although I don't bother doing this with the smaller tarts - just the big family size one). Use dried beans or baking beads for the first 15 mins, then remove them and continue baking for another 10 mins or so at 180c.

Ahh, a triple batch is genious, Melanie-Jade. If only our pot was big enough! The cheese is a real crowd pleaser.

dear christine,all those things are delicious and makes me very hungry.my favourite is the custard tart.thanks for sharing the recipe!!!!!today is it hot and humid here in germany.wish you a nice restweek,love and hugs regina

Thankyou for posting the recipe on that lovely custard tart. I baked it yesterday for my family and it was absolutely delicious! The pastry was beautiful and crisp and the custard very smooth. Love your blog and read regularly.